Natural disasters come at high repair cost
THE aftershock of natural disasters is often in the cost of repairs and rebuilding.
So far this year, Australia has seen five natural disasters and the repair cost is forming quicker than Cyclone Marcia.
According to the Insurance Council of Australia, 35,366 insurance claims have been lodged since Cyclone Marcia and at last count, the losses came to $446 million.
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South Australia is still recovering from devastating bushfires in January with 996 claims lodged and $36.6 million in losses.
New South Wales has been hit by three natural disasters so far this year starting with storms in April resulting in $301 million in losses from 68,243 claims.
An Anzac Day hailstorm in Sydney was the next disaster to hit and resulted in $125 million in losses.
South-east Queensland joined northern NSW in the most recent disaster when storms affected the areas from April 30 to May 3.
By May 4, insurance companies had received about 7500 claims with initial losses estimated at $26 million.